My sister Amanda was recently re-capping her escapades in the British Virgin Islands with her new fisherman-squeeze named Fish. Yes, that's right, Fish. She met this handsome sea creature while we were sipping frozen Nippers on Easter Sunday in the Abacos. Since then this is her third tropical vacation with the captain of the sea and she had some wild stories. I will leave those out because 90% of the people who read my blog are my relatives (aka, 9 out of my 10 followers). One thing that caught my attention while she was re-hasing the details of her vacay was when she was discussing snorkeling along Norman Island in BVI and how she almost rubbed her leg against some "fire coral". I enjoy an occasional snorkel-sesh in the Carribbean as well but was completely unfamiliar with such a possibly dangerous encounter. As far as I've been concerned I've mostly been fearful of sharks (ou-ha-ha) and eels. Yes, that was a Finding Nemo reference for those who missed it. (PS. Happy Shark Week!) Fire coral is a bright yellow-green and is easily mistaken as seaweed. If your skin comes in contact with the dangerous beauty you immediately exprieicne an immense pain that can last anywhere from two days to two weeks! The pain is similar to a jelly-fish sting. I looked up the Fire Coral Treatments on webMD to see if they suggest peeing on the affected area which is a relatively common home-remedy for jelly fish stings. That was not a suggestion (but then again, I doubt if I look up "jelly-fish sting treatments" it will suggest peeing on your own leg as the best option).
Here is what they suggest....
The following guidelines are suggested to treat fire coral cuts:
- Rinse with seawater. Avoid fresh water because it will increase pain.
- Apply topical acetic acid (vinegar) or isopropyl alcohol.
- Remove tentacles with tweezers. (Yowch!)
- Immobilize the extremity because movement may cause the venom to spread.
- Apply hydrocortisone cream 2-3 times daily as needed for itching. Discontinue immediately if any signs of infection appear.
If the person who has come into contact with fire coral develops shortness of breath; swelling in the tongue, face, or throat; or other signs of an allergic reaction, treat for an allergic reaction . If no signs of allergic reaction are present, pain may be relieved with 1-2 tablets of acetaminophen (Tylenol) every 4 hours and/or 1-2 tablets of ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) every 6-8 hours.
So now you know! Beware of touching bright yellow/green coral that looks like seaweed!! Amanda was lucky she just missed that painful encounter!
- Lizzie
Totally Random Factoid: The average 4-person family opens their refridgerator at least 68 times a day. (From my mom who found herself reading random appliance literature at work the other day)!